


Beautiful But Deadly

by telperion_15



Category: Primeval
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Community: primevalathon, Established Relationship, M/M, Near Death Experience, Plants, Poison
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-15
Updated: 2012-03-15
Packaged: 2017-11-02 00:01:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/362759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/telperion_15/pseuds/telperion_15
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The team are called to an anomaly, but on this occasion the threat isn't quite a typical one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for deinonychus_1 as part of the Primevalathon, for the prompt 'fic where the threat from the anomaly isn't a big nasty creature, it's something less obvious (but not necessarily less deadly) such as a harmless-looking plant or animal which turns out to be poisonous, or a toxic atmosphere from a very distant time period'.
> 
> Thanks to fififolle for the beta.

  
Part One

 

Ryan’s phone began warbling ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ at almost the same moment Connor’s started doing a Britney Spears impression.  Scrabbling around on the nightstand, the soldier answered as quickly as possible, cutting off the screeching _oooooooooo-eeeeeeeeeee_ in mid flow.  He smirked as he heard Connor muttering, “I’ll hit _you_ , baby, one more time if you’re not careful,” and then gave all his attention to the person on the other end of the phone.

“Hello?”

“ _Captain Ryan?_ ”  It was Claudia Brown.  “ _Sorry to disturb you so late, but we’ve had report of another anomaly.  Lester wants everyone on the spot_.”

Ryan squinted at the alarm clock.  The glowing red digits read 3:38, and he sighed.  Anomalies didn’t run to a schedule, it seemed.  “Fine.  We’ll be there.  Where is it?”

Claudia gave him the location, and then hung up.  Turning over, Ryan was faced with a frowning Connor.  “I take it you know what’s going on?”

“Yeah.”  Connor waved his own phone.  “That was Cutter.”  He too looked at the clock.  “I guess that’s all the sleep we’re getting for the night, huh?”

“Looks like it,” Ryan agreed.  He started to climb out of bed, but stopped when he felt Connor’s hand on his arm.

“Just one thing.”  Connor looked serious.  “Britney Spears?”

Ryan grinned.  “Call it payback.”

Connor’s eyes were wide and innocent, but Ryan didn’t believe it for a second.

*   *   *   *   *

An hour later, Ryan pulled up at the location Claudia had given him.  The long, low, modern-looking buildings were surrounded by some rather feeble attempts at landscaping, and despite Claudia informing him that the place was a hi-tech research facility, to Ryan it looked more like a business park than anything else. 

They’d picked up Abby on the way, and both she and Connor were yawning sleepily as they stumbled out of the car.  Ryan, much more accustomed to odd sleeping patterns, was feeling far more alert, and he looked around quickly, assessing the situation.

The rest of his unit appeared to have arrived only moments before they had, and with Claudia Brown in tow.  Davis, Robertson, and Bradshaw were all unloading the truck, and Ryan nodded to his men as they spotted him emerging from the car.

Professor Cutter and Stephen Hart had also arrived, and seemed to be in consultation with a woman Ryan didn’t recognise.  She was fairly short and slender, with somewhat frizzy hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun.  The white coat she was wearing suggested a scientist of some kind, and Ryan groaned inwardly.  That was the last thing he needed.  He started to move towards the little group, Claudia joining him as he approached them.

The unfamiliar woman looked round as he stopped next to her, her expression registering uncertainty as to who he and Claudia might be.

“Claudia Brown, Home Office,” Claudia introduced herself.  “And this is Captain Ryan.  He’ll be in charge of the military presence here,” she added smoothly.

“I’m Dr. Anita O’Brien,” the woman replied.  Then she frowned.  “I’m really not sure why the military is needed, Ms. Brown,” she said.  “I’m not even sure what’s going on here.”

“It’s just precautionary, ma’am,” Ryan assured her.  “We have some experience with this kind of thing.”

“And what exactly is ‘this kind of thing’?” asked Dr. O’Brien.  “All I know is that one of my lab assistants saw something on one of our surveillance cameras, and started babbling about aliens and supernatural phenomena!  And that’s always assuming he didn’t fake the whole thing just for a bit of a laugh.”

“I’ve looked at the pictures, Doctor, and I can assure you it’s not a hoax,” Cutter said.  “Now, can you tell us exactly where this camera is broadcasting from?  It’s imperative that we find this phenomenon as quickly as possible.”

Dr. O’Brien still looked dissatisfied with the explanations she was getting, but appeared to realise that she wasn’t going to get any more at this juncture.  “I can do better than that,” she replied briskly.  “I can show you.”

*   *   *   *   *

“Oh, wow,” said Connor softly.  “That’s amazing…”

“It’s so pretty,” Abby agreed.

They, along with Ryan, Claudia, Cutter, Stephen, and Dr. O’Brien, were standing on the edge of a precipice, looking down into what appeared to be an enormous quarry.  But this quarry wasn’t being used for mining – at least, not any more.  Instead, at least half of the surface area of its floor was covered by a massive bio-dome, several acres in size, and who knew how tall.

And while most of the dome was in near darkness, one sector of it was glowing softly, a silvery radiance emanating from it that could only have one source.

“Definitely an anomaly,” Connor heard the professor mutter.

“And what,” asked Dr. O’Brien bluntly, “is an anomaly?”

“What’s in the dome?” Stephen countered, deflecting the question.

The doctor frowned at him for a moment, and then relented.  “A rainforest habitat,” she replied.  “We’re a research company, Mr. Hart.  We explore and develop possible medicines and vaccines that could be harvested from the natural world.  Scientists believe there could be all sorts of medical marvels hiding in the rainforests.”

“So you’ve created your very own rainforest in darkest Berkshire?”  Stephen sounded sceptical.

“The company’s owner is very enthusiastic and very dedicated,” said Dr. O’Brien.  “It has taken him years to create that simulation in there.  It’s allowed to flourish with no outside interference.  You’d be surprised how natural a habitat can develop under those circumstances.”

“But how come we’ve never heard of this place?” Abby demanded.  “I mean, it’s _huge_.  You’d think people would know about it.”

“The owner may be enthusiastic and dedicated, but he’s also very private.  And _very_ rich,” said Dr. O’Brien pointedly.  “He insists on confidentiality, and he gets it.”

“Dr. O’Brien,” said Cutter, drawing the conversation back to the matter at hand.  “Has anyone been inside the dome since the anomaly was spotted?”

“No.”

“And has anyone seen anything unusual in there?  On the other cameras, maybe?”

“You mean apart from the big sparkly ball of light?” replied the scientist in irritation.  “No.  And are you going to tell me what an anomaly is or not?”

“Perhaps we should go to your office,” said Claudia soothingly.  “Then I can tell you everything you need to know.”

Connor smothered a smile at Claudia’s expert government-speak.  He suspected the civil servant’s idea of what Dr. O’Brien needed to know was vastly different to the scientist’s.

As Claudia led Dr. O’Brien back towards the buildings where they’d parked the vehicles, the rest of the group surveyed the bio-dome again.

“Sounds like this might be fairly straightforward,” Stephen commented.  “If it’s only appeared in the last few hours, and no one’s seen anything on the cameras, we could be in for an easy time.”

“And even if something _has_ come through, it’ll be confined to the dome,” Abby pointed out.  “We can contain it easily.”

Connor nodded in agreement, although he could sense Ryan rolling his eyes.  The soldier always wanted to look on the negative side of things.  Connor knew that Ryan thought they never took the potential danger seriously enough.  But it was hard to get too worried when they were experiencing such wonderful things.  And also when one was half-asleep.

Aloud, the soldier said, “We’re going to check it out properly anyway.  Ms. Brown can get the doctor to give us access to the dome, and then we can do a sweep.  Check on the anomaly, and look for any signs of incursion.”

Cutter was nodding, although both Stephen and Abby looked as if they hoped they could get this over with quickly, and then go back to bed.  Connor tried to smile enthusiastically, but the expression turned into a yawn halfway through.  5am wasn’t the best time for enthusiasm, in his book.  He saw a flash of sympathy in Ryan’s eyes as the soldier patted him on the shoulder.

“Come on,” Ryan said.  “The sooner we get down there, the sooner we can go home.”

*   *   *   *   *

Dawn was threatening by the time they were kitted up and ready to go, the sky now more grey than black, diminishing the glow from the bio-dome.  Claudia had persuaded Dr. O’Brien that Cutter and his team needed access to the dome, although the scientist still looked generally unhappy with the situation.

“How long will this take?” she asked.

“Impossible to say,” said Ryan firmly.  “But we are looking at a finite area, so unless anything happens, we shouldn’t be too long.”

“Unless anything happens?” questioned Dr. O’Brien.  “What could possibly happen?”

But Ryan was already moving away towards the door that had been indicated to them as an entrance.  Behind him he heard Claudia making soothing noises, although Dr. O’Brien’s grumbling indicated that she wasn’t entirely mollified.

“Right.”  Ryan surveyed the group trailing along in his wake.  “Davis, you take Robertson, the professor, and Abby.  I’ll take Bradshaw, Connor, and Hart.  The anomaly is diametrically opposite where we are now, so my group will take the left half of the circumference and yours will take the right.  You know the drill – keep your eyes peeled for anything unusual, and we’ll meet at the anomaly.”

Davis nodded, as Cutter and Abby moved to stand by him and Lieutenant Robertson.  Ryan looked at everyone appraisingly, and then pulled open the door.

He found himself standing in the entrance of what appeared to be a small antechamber, no more than four metres square.  There was some jostling as everyone trooped in behind him, but just about enough space so that no one was knocking elbows. 

Connor immediately started towards a second door at the other end of the chamber, but Ryan put out a hand to stop him.

“Wait a minute,” he said.  And as Abby pulled the door shut behind them, they all heard the definite sound of a pressure seal engaging.

Connor frowned at him.  “What is it?” he asked.  “It can’t be an airlock.  We’re not in space, or underwater, or anything.”

Ryan gestured upwards towards the ceiling as Cutter answered the young man’s question.  There was an arrangement of grills above their heads, which seemed to be emitting a low humming noise.

“It’s an air filtration system,” the professor explained.  “Dr. O’Brien told us about it.  It’s to stop contaminants from the outside penetrating the rainforest habitat.  And to stop anything from inside getting out, as well.  Apparently there are some specimens in there that could be pretty unfriendly to the British environment.”

“I wonder how long it takes before the air is clean enough,” said Stephen, nodding towards a panel by the inner door, on which a red light was glowing pointedly.  But as Ryan glanced towards it, there was a beep, and the red light blinked out as a green one came on.

“Not long at all, it seems,” said Cutter.  He shrugged.  “Shame there’s an anomaly in there letting god knows what through now.  Kind of makes this redundant.”

“Well, if it’s only letting through air contaminants, and not something that wants to eat me, I’ll be a happy man,” Ryan said. He opened the inner door, and then closed his eyes briefly as warm, moist air rolled over him.

“Rainforest climate,” he heard Abby say.  “High temperatures and high humidity.”

Ryan looked around.  It certainly _looked_ like a rainforest.  Dense undergrowth blocked their view only a few yards in front of them.  And looking up he could see that the tall trees reached nearly to the top of the dome.  Although logically he knew they couldn’t be anywhere _near_ as tall as they would be out in the real world – rainforest trees took decades to get that big.

“I wonder how they keep it so damp,” Connor said.  “It’s not like it can actually rain in here.”

“Probably air humidifiers,” said Cutter.  “Despite Dr. O’Brien’s claims of this being a ‘natural’ habitat, I suspect the conditions in here are very carefully monitored.”

“You can ask her about it all you like later,” said Ryan impatiently.  “Let’s get on, shall we?  It shouldn’t take more than fifteen minutes for each group to reach the anomaly.  If anyone sees anything out of the ordinary, let the others know _at once_.  Then we can assess its danger level, and decide what to do next.”

“If something with teeth comes hurtling at me, I think its danger level will be pretty easy to assess,” Connor joked, but he subsided under a glare from Ryan.

“See you at the anomaly, then,” said Cutter.  Then he, Abby, Davis, and Robertson moved away, the group swallowed up in the dense foliage almost immediately.

Ryan glanced quickly at the members of his group, and then motioned them forward.  Remembering his reassurance to Connor, he hoped this would be as straightforward as it appeared.

*   *   *   *   *

Connor ducked, but he wasn’t quite fast enough, and the branch that Ryan had pushed out of the way swept his hat off his head as it snapped back into place.  There was a surprised exclamation from behind him, and as he straightened up again he turned to see Stephen holding the hat out towards him, an amused expression on his face.

“Lose something?”

Connor grimaced and snatched the hat back, stuffing it in his bag to keep it out of harm’s way.  Behind Stephen’s shoulder he could see Corporal Bradshaw smirking too, and he had to resist the urge to childishly stick his tongue out.

“Thanks,” he muttered instead.

“When you lot have quite finished.”  Ryan sounded exasperated, and Connor gave him an apologetic, and slightly sheepish, look.  Looking somewhat mollified, Ryan set off again through the undergrowth, the other three following quickly.

Surreptitiously, Connor loosened his collar.  He could feel it growing damp from sweat, and he grimaced once more.  They’d only been walking for five minutes, and already he was longing for a cool drink, and a cooler shower.

It was ridiculous.  They were still in England, but they might have well as been in deepest, darkest Brazil.  As far as Connor could tell, the habitat at least _felt_ as authentic as Dr. O’Brien said it was – the only incongruity was the occasional glimpse of the dome far above them whenever there was a gap in the tree canopy.

Of course, the other problem with authenticity was that there were no man-made paths through this ‘jungle’.  They were using a track obviously made by the scientists when they periodically came in to collect samples and take readings, but even that wasn’t particularly clear, or even well defined.  Hence the branch that had nearly hit Connor in the face.

Pushing another clump of foliage aside, this one including a plant with some rather pretty purple flowers, Connor wondered how much further it was to the anomaly.  He didn’t ask, though.  Ryan didn’t take kindly to whining, even from his lover.  _Especially_ from his lover.

There was a sudden sharp curse from behind him, and he turned again – this time to see Bradshaw waving his hand around, obviously in pain, while Stephen looked faintly worried.

“What now?”  Ryan’s impatience was back, and Connor started to wonder whether big, tough Special Forces soldiers really _did_ deal as well with lack of sleep as Ryan always claimed.

“Something pricked me!”  The corporal held out his hand for inspection.  “Look, it’s scratched.”

Ryan rolled his eyes.  “Honestly, they’ll let any old wuss into the SAS these days.  You probably just brushed against something with thorns, that’s all.  It’s not even bleeding.”

Bradshaw looked mutinous, but Stephen, who appeared to share Ryan’s doubts and amusement, was now smiling.  Connor, who hadn’t been in a position to see anything, shrugged at Bradshaw, and then set off after Ryan again.

But they had barely moved ten yards when there was another exclamation from the young soldier.  This time Connor, Ryan, and Stephen all turned in unison to find Bradshaw looking very pale, one arm outstretched to lean against a tree.

“What is it?”  Ryan no longer sounded exasperated, but instead rather concerned.  And this time Connor found himself agreeing with the sentiment – Bradshaw didn’t look good.

“Dizzy,” muttered Bradshaw.  “And I feel…”  He retched suddenly, and Stephen jumped back as vomit splattered on the ground.

Ryan looked seriously worried now.  “What the hell is the matter with him?” he muttered to Connor, as Stephen stepped forward to provide extra support – the corporal was looking wobblier by the second.  “And how the hell did it happen so quickly?”

“I don’t know,” replied Connor, chewing a fingernail anxiously.  “Maybe it was whatever pricked him.  Some kind of poisonous insect, perhaps?”

“But there _aren’t_ any insects in here,” Ryan pointed out.  “Dr. O’Brien said so, remember?  Plant life only.”

“There aren’t any insects in here that she _knows_ of,” Connor contradicted.  “Who knows what could have come through the anomaly?”

Ryan nodded, although he didn’t look particularly happy at the prospect of prehistoric bugs.  “Well, he can’t stay here, that’s for damn sure,” he said.  “Hart, get him back to the entrance.  Find Ms. Brown and Dr. O’Brien and get the corporal looked at.  Connor and I will carry on to the anomaly.  I’ll let Cutter and the others know what’s happening.”

“Okay.”  Stephen settled an arm more firmly around Bradshaw’s shoulders.  “Come on, Corporal, time to go.”

Bradshaw acquiesced quietly, stumbling a little as he and Stephen headed back the way they’d come.  He looked distinctly unsteady on his feet, and Connor found himself wondering worriedly what could have caused such a fast, and extreme, reaction.  Ryan was muttering into his radio, apprising the other team of the situation, and advising them to keep an even sharper lookout than normal.  Connor squinted into the air, trying to work out if he could see any insects.  If they were really small, there was a chance they’d all miss them…

“Connor?”  He felt a touch on his arm, and looked round to see Ryan smiling at him reassuringly.  “Come on.  It can’t be much further to the anomaly.  Maybe we’ll discover more when we get there.”

Connor smiled back weakly.  “Okay.”  Then he grimaced.  “I really hope it’s not bugs, though.”

*   *   *   *   *

Ryan was right about the anomaly – another five or six minutes brought them to a small clearing in the trees, where the sparkling portal hung innocuously, spinning gently and looking about as dangerous as a piece of tinsel.

Connor had strained his eyes as he walked, desperately trying to pick up on any insects that might be hovering around him.  But he’d seen nothing, and he knew Ryan hadn’t either.  Maybe Bradshaw just had a delayed, but severe, case of food poisoning.  Or maybe he was just allergic to one of the plants in here.  That would be unfortunate, but innocent.

As Ryan checked the ground around the anomaly, looking for tracks and other evidence of incursion, Connor looked around at the ‘rainforest’ surrounding them.  He knew they were fairly near the perimeter of the dome here, but unless he looked up through the trees, he really felt like he was in the jungle.

His attention was caught by another clump of the purple flowers he’d seen by the track.  He wasn't really a flower man, but these really were quite attractive.  Bright purple, and shaped somewhere between a bell and a trumpet.  They reminded him of something he’d seen before.

Looking around, he noticed there were several of the same plants scattered around the edge of the clearing.  Peering more closely at the nearest clump, he reached out a hand to touch one of the blooms.

Ow!"


	2. Chapter 2

“Ow!”

Ryan spun round at the sound of Connor’s yelp.  “What happened?”

“The flower shot at me!” said Connor, sounding more indignant than in pain.

The claim was so ridiculous that for a moment Ryan almost laughed.  As it was, he managed to restrict himself to a smile and a fond shake of the head.  “Of course it did, Connor.”

“It _did_ ,” Connor insisted.  “I reached out to touch it, and it launched some kind of dart at me!”

Still unconvinced, Ryan nevertheless moved away from the anomaly and towards Connor, deciding that the ‘kiss it better’ routine might be the best way to distract his lover from his silly theory.

But when he saw the two inch long dart sticking out of the back of Connor’s hand, the theory suddenly didn’t seem quite so silly any more.  Carefully, he plucked the filament from Connor’s hand and examined it closely, keeping the tip well away from his own skin.

“Did you actually touch the flower?” he asked.

“I’m not sure,” replied Connor.  “Maybe…yes, I think my fingertips brushed it.”

“Looks like some kind of defence mechanism,” Ryan mused.  “To avoid being eaten by animals or something…”

But he couldn’t develop the idea much further, as at that moment Connor suddenly staggered and fell against him.  Only Ryan’s superior reflexes stopped them both tumbling to the ground, although he lost the dart as he quickly grabbed at Connor with both hands.

“Connor?” he asked urgently.

“I don’t feel good,” the younger man muttered.

Ryan gently lowered him to the ground, propping him up against a tree.  It was obvious Connor was trying to avoid throwing up, although Ryan couldn’t decide if his shaking was purely due to the effort of holding his nausea in check, or was another symptom of whatever toxin the flower had introduced into his body.

Because there was no doubt in the soldier’s mind now that both Connor and Bradshaw had been poisoned by this flower.  He was also certain that the plant must have come through the anomaly somehow – Dr. O’Brien hadn’t mentioned anything about deadly shooting flowers before letting them enter the dome, and it seemed like information that might have been pertinent.

But if it had come through the anomaly, then would anyone have any idea what kind of flower it was?  His own knowledge of botany was admittedly rather limited, and he wasn’t sure if Cutter, Hart, or Abby had any specialist knowledge of plants.

Dr. O’Brien would seem to be their best bet.  But Ryan didn’t like the chances of getting a specimen out to her to look at, not with the flower’s habit of attacking anyone who went near it.  And besides, keeping the plants inside the bio-dome was definitely the best course of action for the moment – he didn’t want to think about the consequences of unleashing a foreign species like this on the outside environment.

Connor groaned, and Ryan immediately turned his attention back to the younger man.  “How do you feel?” he asked, knowing the question sounded inane, but needing the information.

“Awful,” said Connor thickly.  “My head is swimming, and I feel like I’m going to…”  The battle finally lost, he threw up suddenly, luckily turning away from Ryan as he retched on to the ground.

Ryan reached for his radio.  “Any other symptoms?” he said urgently.

Connor shook his head.  “I just feel really shaky and crap,” he replied.  “Can’t we get out of here?”

“Soon,” Ryan promised.  He flicked the radio to transmit.  He needed to warn the others.

*   *   *   *   *

Stephen looked round sharply as the door opened and Cutter appeared, looking dishevelled, but otherwise unscathed.  “Cutter?” he said.  “What are you doing here?”

“It’s Connor,” replied Cutter shortly.  “It appears the same thing has happened to him as has happened to Bradshaw.  Ryan radioed our team and recommended we make a quick exit from the dome.”

“And what about Ryan and Connor?  Where are they?”

“Still inside.  Apparently Connor’s in no fit state to move.”

“And we don’t even know what’s done this to them,” said Stephen in frustration.  “It must be an insect or something, but we didn’t see anything…”

“It’s not an insect,” Cutter interrupted him.  “It’s the flowers.”

“Flowers?”  Dr. O’Brien’s sharp question broke into the conversation.  “What flowers?”

She was on the other side of the room, leaning over the prone form of Bradshaw, who was unconscious on a bed.  As soon as Stephen and the corporal had emerged from the bio-dome, the scientist had immediately offered up the facility’s own infirmary as a place to take the sick soldier.  Claudia, who had been wondering how she would explain another case of unknown poisoning to the NHS, had accepted the suggestion gratefully.

Stephen had then been surprised when Dr. O’Brien had taken it upon herself to start examining the corporal.  At his questioning look she had quickly explained that she had been a medical doctor before deciding that her time was better spent in trying to discover new vaccines and cures for the diseases that plagued mankind.  After that he had been content to let her work, his offer of help declined in favour of a young nurse who had done his job quietly and efficiently without causing a fuss.

And now he knew that Cutter was about to ask the same questions of the scientist that he had, and he quickly flashed the other man a reassuring smile.  Cutter seemed to accept Stephen’s judgement on the situation, and proceeded to answer Dr. O’Brien’s question.

“There’s an alien species of plant in the dome,” he said.  “Bradshaw and Connor weren’t stung by insects, they were infected by these flowers.”

“But how?” asked Stephen.  “How does a _flower_ infect you?”

“From what Ryan said, it sounds like a self-defence mechanism,” replied Cutter.  “Get too close and the flower shoots a dart into you.”

“What do these flowers look like?” said Dr. O’Brien.

“Tall stems with purple blooms shaped somewhere between a bell and a trumpet,” described Cutter.

Dr. O’Brien frowned.  “That doesn’t sound like anything we have in the dome,” she said.

“Well, I’m no botany expert, but I certainly didn’t recognise them,” said Cutter.

“Do you think they’ve come through the anomaly?” asked Stephen.

“They must have done,” replied Cutter.  “The seeds probably drifted through and germinated.”  He paused.  “But the situation is more serious than that.  The plants are everywhere, Stephen.  They can’t all have arrived in one night.  This anomaly must have been open before, on numerous occasions, for them to gain such a foothold.”

“But surely someone would have noticed?  If not the anomaly, then at least the flowers?”

“Not necessarily,” said Dr. O’Brien.  “People don’t go inside the dome very often, and actually we don’t normally have people watching the camera feeds – the images are more for research purposes than for security.  So it was sheer coincidence this phenomenon was spotted tonight.”  She gave the two men a pointed look.  “Whatever this phenomenon _is_.”

Stephen smiled sheepishly, and could sense Cutter doing the same behind him.  “It’s out of our hands, I’m afraid,” he said apologetically.

The doctor’s eyes narrowed.  “Look, this man is very sick, and by the sounds of it another of your colleagues has been infected too.  I may be able to help them, but to do that I need to know what’s going on.  Are you going to tell me, or not?”

Stephen exchanged a glance with Cutter.  But before they could come to a decision, their silent conference was interrupted by a moan from Bradshaw, who then abruptly started thrashing around.  Stephen and Cutter immediately started towards the bed, but Dr. O’Brien waved them back.  Already the soldier’s convulsions were starting to subside, but it was several moments until he was completely still again.

Dr. O’Brien quickly checked the readouts on the monitors next to the bed, and then glared angrily at the two men standing opposite her.

“Tell me what’s going on.  Right now.”

*   *   *   *   *

“Connor.  Connor!”

Ryan shook the young man’s shoulder roughly, making his eyes jerk open, and his face pale visibly.  For a brief moment, Ryan felt guilty, but then he pushed it aside.  He didn’t know exactly what Connor had been poisoned with, and until he found out he figured it was best to keep Connor conscious.  If he slipped away, he might never wake up.  Ryan’s mind shied away from the thought.

“I wasn’t sleeping,” said Connor defensively, his words slurring a little.

“Connor, stay with me,” Ryan instructed.

“Okay,” said Connor agreeably.  Then, unaccountably, he giggled.

“What?  What is it?”

“Why are there two of you?” the young man asked.  He giggled again.  “Two Ryans – must be my lucky day!”

Ryan frowned.  Connor was becoming less lucid by the second.  And now he appeared to have developed double vision, or hallucinations, or something.

“Tom, where are we?” said Connor suddenly.

Ryan kept the unease off his face.  Connor hardly ever used his first name, despite the fact they were sleeping together.  Well, more than sleeping together, really…

“We’re at the bio-research facility, remember?” he said reassuringly.  “Inside the dome, looking for the anomaly.”

“The anomaly, yes,” replied Connor vaguely.  “Looks like a rainforest,” he observed.

“Yes, it does,” Ryan agreed.

“Ooh, look!”

“What?”

“Pretty flowers!” exclaimed Connor, pointing at the blooms that were to blame for the current situation.  “Pretty,” he said again.

“Connor, look at me, not the flowers,” said Ryan firmly.

“Which you should I look at?”

Ryan suppressed a sigh.  “Just pick one of me, and focus on that,” he suggested patiently.

Obediently, Connor directed his gaze to somewhere in the vicinity of Ryan’s right ear.  Oh well, that was good enough.  Desperately, Ryan racked his brains to come up with something he could use to focus Connor’s mind.  Briefly, he thought about asking Connor if he could speculate on what the flowers were, but he didn’t think drawing the young man’s attention back in that direction was a good thing.

Then he thought back to their unceremonious awakening in the early hours of that morning, and suddenly he had an idea.

“Connor, why do you always programme my phone with stupid ringtones?” he asked.

Connor looked confused for a moment.  “Because it’s funny?” he mumbled eventually.

“Yes, it is,” Ryan said, hoping his agreement wasn’t going to come back to bite him on the arse later.  Oh well, if it did, he could always get his revenge again.  “The latest one is particularly hilarious.  So, what other tunes did you have mind for my amusement?”

Connor’s brow crinkled as he tried to follow the sense of Ryan’s question.  Then he grinned vacuously.  “Oh, I’ve got lots of ideas,” he said enthusiastically.  “What about ‘MMMBop’?  Very bouncy.  Or perhaps ‘It’s a Small World’?  A friend of mine had that once, and I always wanted to disown them every time their phone rang.  And of course there’s always the classics – Crazy Frog, for example…”

Listening to him, Ryan made a mental note to never let Connor near his phone ever again.  But he quickly forgot all about that when Connor’s words trailed off, and he closed his eyes with a groan.

“Connor?  Connor, are you alright?”

Connor groaned again, and then retched.  He’d already lost everything in his stomach, and Ryan watched with deepening concern as he convulsed, unable to bring anything up.  In contrast to earlier, Connor was now looking flushed, and Ryan could hear that his breathing was shallow and panting.

Reaching out, he placed a comforting hand on the young man’s shoulder, squeezing gently.  He wished he knew what to do.  He should probably try and get them both back to the dome entrance, but with Connor in his current state, it was more than likely that the young man would get himself darted again through carelessness, and probably Ryan too into the bargain.

But they couldn’t just stay here.  Connor was deteriorating in front of his eyes, and Ryan was beginning to be seriously worried about his chances.

At the very least, he needed to know what was going on.  He pulled out his radio again.

*   *   *   *   *

“Oh, Cutter, why did you have to tell her?” Claudia sighed.

They were standing in the open air, about halfway between the building housing the infirmary and the edge of the quarry.  The sun had now risen, and its rays were reflecting harshly off the upper panels of the dome, which were just visible above the lip of the quarry.  Cutter found himself wondering if the sunlight would increase the temperature inside the dome.  He hoped not – the last thing Connor and Ryan needed was another problem along the lines of dehydration or heatstroke.

“We need her help,” he said bluntly, in answer to Claudia’s question.  “And quite frankly, I’m not so sure that she wouldn’t have just walked away if we’d carried on keeping the truth from her.”

“You think she’d just leave our people to die?” said Abby, her concern for Connor obvious in the question.

“Well, okay, maybe not,” Cutter allowed.  “But Dr. O’Brien is our best chance of helping Bradshaw and Connor, and I figured it was probably a good idea to keep her on side.”

Claudia sighed again.  “I know,” she said.  “I just wish there was another way, that’s all.  Lester’s not going to be happy.”

“Of course he isn’t,” replied Cutter.  “But there really was no choice.”

At that moment, the exterior door of the infirmary building opened, and Dr. O’Brien emerged into the early morning light.  She still looked a little shell-shocked by what Cutter had told her, but she seemed to be rapidly adjusting to events, and as she approached, Cutter gave her a quick smile.

“How is he?” Abby asked, referring to Bradshaw.

“He’s quiet at the moment,” the scientist replied.  “I’ve left my nurse and Mr. Hart watching him.  But that doesn’t mean he isn’t still deteriorating.  And I still have no idea what type of toxin is doing this to him.  I really need a sample of that plant.”

“Are you sure that’s the best course of action?” said Claudia.  “From what I understand, these plants will pretty much attack anyone who comes near them.  The last thing we need is more sick people on our hands.”

“Well, I really don’t see an alternative,” replied Dr. O’Brien.  “If this plant is from the past or the future, like you say, then it may be totally different to any species we have now.  I _need_ a sample.”

“Okay, we’ll get…” Cutter began, but he was interrupted by the infirmary door being flung open again.  Stephen appeared, looking panicked.

“He’s convulsing again!” he yelled.

Dr. O’Brien immediately started heading towards him, Cutter, Claudia, and Abby following close behind.  It took them several precious moments to reach the room where Bradshaw was being treated, and when they entered Cutter could see immediately that the soldier was worse off than before.  The first round of convulsions had died away fairly quickly, but these ones showed no signs of stopping, and all four members of the anomaly team watched helplessly as Dr. O’Brien and her nurse worked frantically to try and calm the corporal.

“His pulse has skyrocketed and he's going into arrhythmia!” exclaimed the doctor.  “I’ve got to try and bring it under control.”  The monitor next to Bradshaw’s bed confirmed her words – they could all see the irregular and racing heartbeat on the small screen.

Dr. O’Brien was hurriedly filling a syringe with liquid from a small bottle, tapping it sharply to get rid of the bubbles, and then affixing it to the IV line leading into Bradshaw’s hand.

“What’s that?” Cutter asked breathlessly.

“Amiodarone,” the scientist replied shortly.  “It’ll help.”

But then, just as she was about to inject the drug, she paused.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” said Claudia.

But Cutter could see the woman’s lips moving silently – she appeared to be working through something.  Her sudden exclamation startled everyone, and Abby knocked against Cutter as she jumped.

“Of course!  It all fits!”

“What?” Stephen asked.

“All the symptoms, coupled with Professor Cutter’s description of the plant, indicate digitalis poisoning.  Or at least something very like it.”  Dr. O’Brien quickly located another bottle, and filled a second syringe.  “This is lidocaine,” she explained.  “Amiodarone isn’t suitable for digitalis poisoning, so this is used instead.”

“Are you sure?” Stephen asked dubiously.

The doctor gave him a look.  “Which of us is medically qualified?” she asked sharply.  Stephen subsided quickly and Dr. O’Brien directed her gaze towards Claudia.

There was a second’s pause, and then Claudia nodded.  “Do it,” she said decisively.

Dr. O’Brien quickly injected the drug into the IV line, and then there were a tense few moments while everyone waited.

“His heart rate is coming down,” Dr. O’Brien said eventually, the monitor again confirming her assessment.

“Will he be alright now?” Abby asked.

“It’s still touch and go,” said the doctor.  “But we’ve managed to avert heart failure, so I would say I’m less worried than I was.  But he really needs to get to a hospital, so he can be properly monitored.”

Claudia nodded.  “I’ll arrange it,” she said.

“Ms. Brown?”

Everyone turned to see Lieutenant Davis in the doorway.  The soldier’s eyes flickered momentarily to his sick colleague, but to his credit he delivered his message before asking about him.

“The captain’s been on the radio, ma’am,” said Davis.  “Temple’s getting worse.  They need help.”

*   *   *   *   *

“Shit.  _Shit_.  Connor, you have to wake up, yeah?  Stay with me.”

But it was no good.  Connor’s condition had progressed to the point where he was practically unconscious, only the occasional unintelligible mumble proving that he hadn’t slipped into a coma.  And his breathing was still much too fast, as was his pulse, which had felt like it was racing under Ryan’s fingers.

Ryan thumped the ground in frustration.  Davis had said that help was coming, but that had been twenty minutes ago.  What was keeping them?  Connor was…no, he couldn’t think it, even to himself.  But they needed to get here.  _Now_.

Connor muttered again, but once again the words were too muffled to catch.  Gently, Ryan brushed a few strands of hair off Connor’s sweaty forehead, and wished he didn’t feel quite so helpless.

Behind him, the anomaly spun slowly, and Ryan wondered which era it led to.  Not that he really cared, but if he knew then he could assess any other possible threats that might emerge, which would at least keep his mind from dwelling on all the horrible scenarios running through his head.

But he wasn’t about to leave Connor’s side to go and check.  And besides, he was always telling Cutter and Hart that going through an anomaly on your own was incredibly dangerous (not that they ever listened to him).  He wasn’t about to break his own rule just to satisfy his curiosity.

Where the bloody hell was everyone?

He was just considering radioing Davis again to demand an update when the sound of footsteps reached his ears.  He tensed – an automatic reaction – as the bushes parted and three figures came into view.

It wasn’t immediately easy to identify them, as they were all wearing bulky white hazmat suits.  It was only as they stepped closer that Ryan recognised Cutter, and then Stephen and Dr. O’Brien, behind the faceplates of the helmets.  The two men were carrying large bundles on their backs, and as Ryan watched they both lowered them to the ground.

“You’re it?”  The captain couldn’t help asking the incredulous question.  “You’re the rescue squad?”  The lack of a military escort was obvious, and he made a mental note to have a word with Davis about letting civilians enter a hostile environment alone.  It seemed his men didn’t listen to his instructions either.

“How is he?” Cutter asked, his voice somewhat muffled by his helmet.  He knelt down beside Connor, and completely ignored Ryan’s questions.

“Not good.  He’s delirious and practically unconscious, and his pulse is all over the place.  I think he’s having trouble breathing, too.”

Dr. O’Brien knelt too, and checked Connor’s pulse.  She nodded.  “Without all the medical equipment we have back in the infirmary I can’t be absolutely sure, but it definitely looks like he’s suffering from the same poisoning as the soldier.”

“Can you help him?” Ryan demanded.

Cutter placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.  “Yes,” he replied.  He gestured to the two bundles.  “We brought extra suits with us.  They’re very effective at stopping the darts, so once you and Connor are inside them we should have no problem in all leaving the dome.”

“We have to move fast, though,” said Dr. O’Brien.  “I’m not comfortable giving him any medications in this environment, so we need to get him to the infirmary as quickly as possible so I can give him the same treatment as the corporal before he goes to hospital.”

It was an awkward job getting the semi-unconscious Connor into a hazmat suit.  He was a dead weight, and offered no cooperation at all.  They managed it in the end, however, and then Ryan quickly donned his own suit.

“Let’s get out of here,” said Stephen. 

He stepped forward to Connor’s side, silently offering his assistance, and Ryan nodded gratefully. They supported Connor between them, all but carrying him as they started towards the exit to the dome.  The young man dangled like a rag doll in their grip, his head lolling inside his helmet, and Ryan only hoped that they would be able to move fast enough to get him out in time.  Determinedly, he straightened his back.  They _would_ get him out in time.  There wasn’t any alternative.

Slowly, the small group left the clearing, keeping as far away from any purple, foxglove-like flowers as possible.  Behind them, the anomaly twinkled one last time, and then vanished.

*   *   *   *   *

… _oooooooooo-eeeeeeeeeee-oooo-eeee-oooo-um-um-a-weh…_

Connor’s eyes flew open as the awful noise crashed into his consciousness, sounding far louder, and much more obnoxious, than it ever had before.  His hand shot out automatically and pressed the answer button on the phone lying on the blanket, and he sighed in relief as the wailing was abruptly cut off.

Then his brain caught up with events, and he realised he was lying in a hospital bed, wearing pyjamas that certainly weren’t his, and with the hand not holding the phone itching like mad where an IV needle was inserted into it.

As he struggled to remember what had happened, his eyes alighted on Ryan sitting in the chair next to his bed.  Or perhaps slumped would be a better word – his lover was fast asleep with his head resting on the bed near Connor’s hip.  The position looked uncomfortable, but Ryan was obviously dead to the world.  Not even the phone had woken him.

“ _Hello?  Hello?  Captain Ryan?_ ”

Connor suddenly realised the tinny voice was coming from the phone he was still holding in his hand.  It sounded like Claudia, and he quickly raised the handset to his ear.

“Hello?  Claudia?”

“ _Connor?_ ”  She sounded surprised, unsurprisingly.  “ _Where’s Ryan?_ ”

“He’s asleep.  I don’t want to wake him – he looks knackered.”

“ _Are you sure you should be on the phone?_ ” Claudia asked dubiously.  “ _How long have you been awake?_

“About thirty seconds.”

“ _What?  Connor, you really…_ ”

“I feel fine,” Connor interrupted.

There was a sceptical silence on the other end of the phone.

“Well, okay, maybe not fine,” Connor allowed.  “I _do_ feel a bit fuzzy, and I can’t really remember everything that happened, but I’m not about to keel over from having one phone conversation.”

“ _Maybe you should wake Ryan…_ ”  Claudia still sounded doubtful.

“He’s asleep,” Connor repeated.  “He’s clearly exhausted.  I’m not going to wake him up.”

“ _I’m not surprised he’s tired,_ ” said Claudia.  “ _He’s been sitting by your bed all of yesterday and all of last night._ ”

“I’ve been here for a whole day and night?” Connor said, sounding slightly incredulous.  “What happened?”

Claudia briefly filled him in on the details, ending with, “ _You were out of the worst of the danger by the time they got you to hospital, but the toxin was a little more potent than that of the foxglove, and your unconsciousness was a result of the amount of time it was taking to filter out of your system.  Bradshaw’s in the room next to yours.  Hopefully he should be fine too._ ”

“So the flower was from the future?”

“ _We think so, yes.  Dr. O’Brien, Cutter, and Stephen put their heads together, and decided that it couldn’t have come from anywhere else._ ”

“So what’s going to happen now?”

“ _Lester’s pulling some strings.  The rainforest habitat will have to be torched to make sure the flowers are destroyed, and the facility will have to be moved elsewhere to avoid the anomaly.  The owner’s not happy, but he’s a very rich man, he can absorb the costs.  And a few government contracts for new drugs helped smooth the way as well._ ”

“But what about the anom…”

But at that moment, with a sudden grunt, Ryan woke up, looking rather dazedly at Connor, one side of his face stamped with patterns from the blanket.  But his eyes cleared quickly, taking on a relieved cast as he smiled.

“Connor, you’re awake.  Thank god.”  Then his expression turned confused as he noticed the phone.  “Who are you talking to?”

“Claudia.”

“ _Is that Ryan?  Give him the phone, Connor._ ”

“She wants to talk to you,” said Connor, handing the phone over.  He listened as Claudia obviously gave Ryan the same update she’d just given him, idly scratching at the place where the IV went into his hand.  Then he smiled winningly as Ryan hung up and turned a stern glare on him.

“Honestly, Connor, you’ve only been awake five minutes, and you’re already breaking the rules again.  You should have woken me, or called a nurse.”

But he was utterly failing to sound angry, and Connor’s smile didn’t falter.  Ryan shook his head in mock despair, and then leaned over to press a kiss to Connor’s forehead.  “You scared me,” he said softly.  “I’m glad you’re okay.”  Then he drew back and glared again.  “And now I’m going to fetch the nurses.  And I hope they poke and prod you to within an inch of your life!”

Connor pouted at Ryan’s retreating back, but then grinned again as he noticed Ryan had left his phone behind on the bedside cabinet.  He picked it up, mulling over the possibilities.  
  
Yep, 'It's a Small World' was definitely the way to go...


End file.
